Teams game plan all week for how they anticipate a game to be played. They prepare for every scenario possible, but rarely do the games follow the expected script.

Scott Threlkeld/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints made good offensive adjustments to take advantage of Arizona injuries.The New Orleans Saints'45-14 victory against the Cardinals in the NFC Divisional playoffs last weekend was a prime example of how teams adjust their strategy mid-game to take advantage of unexpected circumstances.

The Saints' opening drive was essentially a NASCAR test run for its high-powered offensive machine. There's a purpose to the scripted sequence. It gives case play-caller Sean Payton a chance to see the Cardinals' strategy.

With that in mind, Payton used six different personnel groups on the 10-play series. He employed different personnel groups on each of the first five plays in an attempt to survey the Cardinals' defensive scheme.

"We wanted to mix some things up with the openers," Payton said of the opening-drive script. "We had a lot of different personnel groupings that we change up quite a bit. One of the things was to find out if we were going to get their nickel or dime defense to some of our sub sets and we did. We just tried to gather information on that first drive and move the ball."

The Saints quickly adjusted their plan, though, once Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and safety Antrol Rolle were lost to injuries in the first quarter. They spread the field in three- and four-receiver sets to stress the Cardinals' coverage personnel, forcing Arizona defensive coordinator Bill Davis into a dilemma. If he used safety help to aid Nos. 5 and 6 corners, Mike Brown and Michael Adams, respectively, then the Saints could isolate receivers against allowed the Saints to isolate Bryant McFadden and/or Greg Toler in single coverage, which they did several times for big gains. If not, the Saints would attack his inexperienced hands. The Cardinals were basically doomed either way.

The Saints also successfully ran the ball out of their spread package. Reggie Bush's 46-yard touchdown run came against the Cardinals' dime defense, which featured four cornerbacks and two safeties. The offensive line did an excellent job of blocking downfield on the play. Guard Jahri Evans and center Jon Goodwin double-teamed defensive tackle Darnell Docket and took him completely out of the play. After that, it was all Bush, who eluded tackle attempts by Bryant McFadden and Calais Campbell near the line of scrimmage before racing into the secondary.

"They lost a safety and a corner during the game, so we stayed in some three-wide receiver sets to run and throw," Payton said after the game.

The Cardinals were almost helpless to stop the Saints' attack once the attrition set in. The Saints scored touchdowns on five of their six first-half series.

Blessed with a big lead in the second half, the Saints called off the dogs and went into "finish" mode. They operated primarily out of their "22" personnel - two tight ends, two backs - for the bulk of the fourth quarter and tried to run out the clock. The Saints attempted just one pass in the final 15 offensive plays.

Ted Jackson/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints RB Reggie Bush had a great game against ArizonaPLAYER OF THE GAME: Reggie Bush was electric. Considering the stakes and stage, it was the best all-around performance of his four-year career. He turned what should have been a short run to the left side into a 46-yard TD that helped break the game open in the second quarter. It was the longest touchdown run of his career. And his 83-yard punt return for a touchdown was the icing on the king cake.

PLAY OF THE GAME: The 44-yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Devery Henderson on a flea-flicker was set up a couple of plays earlier when Payton ran the a little toss sweep to the right side out of the same formation and personnel grouping. The sweep to the right gained 2 yards. Payton came right back to it two plays later but this time he brought the tight end in motion to the left side. Thomas took the handoff to the left then casually tossed the ball back to Brees, who fired a bomb to Henderson after he had beaten cornerback Bryant McFadden deep in single coverage. Henderson made a tremendous adjustment to the ball in the mid-air, doing a 180 to corral the ball over his back shoulder in the end zone. Nice design and execution.

PRESSURE REPORT: For the most part, Gregg Williams dialed back his usual array of pressure packages and played the Cardinals straight-up. He alternated between four- and three-man fronts and rarely brought more than four defenders after the quarterback. The few times he did bring extra heat, it paid off. The Saints recorded a sack on the first play in which they sent six defenders after Warner. Linebackers Jon Vilma and Scott Fujita blitzed from outside, allowing Sedrick Ellis to operate one-on-one against left guard Reggie Wells, who Ellis beat handily for the sack. Late in the second quarter, Williams sent defensive backs Randall Gay and Roman Harper on blindside blitzes and the pressure forced a hurried throw that Will Smith turned into a deflected interception. ..

ZEBRA REPORT: Kudos to referee Ron Winter and his crew. I thought this was one of the best-called games of the season. The only real controversial call in the game was the personal foul call against Scott Shanle for hitting Kurt Warner in the head after he released a pass in the second quarter. The call nullified a Darren Sharper interception and the Cardinals eventually drove for a touchdown. Otherwise, I thought the crew did an excellent job. They missed a few holding calls but the overlooks went both ways. Basically, they let both teams play and that's all players request in a game with such high stakes.

SCOUTING REPORT: I see why the Saints were high on Chris "Beanie" Wells in last year's NFL Draft. His combination of size, speed and running ability is rare. Like most rookie backs, he's struggled with ball security and pass protection but the talent is there. The Saints held Wells to just 7 yards on five carries but you can tell he's going to be a good one for a long time in this league once he learns the tricks of the trade.

DIDYA NOTICE?: The Saints had some veteran players on special teams that usually don't play there. Cornerback Randall Gay played on punt returns. Linebacker Scott Fujita was on punt coverage, along with Malcolm Jenkins. Now that regular cornerbacks Jabari Greer, Tracy Porter and Randall Gay have returned to the lineup, the rookie cornerback from Ohio State played primarily on special teams. He did get some cornerback play late in the fourth quarter during mop-up duty. Defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove has been begging to participate in kickoff coverage all season and now I see why. The 295-pound veteran is a physical force once he gets up a head of steam. He seemed to blow up opposing up-backs on nearly every kickoff return.

NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS:

FIRST QUARTER:

Uncharacteristically poor recognition and pursuit by safeties Roman Harper and Darren Sharper allowed Tim Hightower to run 70 yards almost untouched for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. Harper appeared to lose Hightower in traffic and was late to arrive on the scene. Sharper took a poor angle on his tackle attempt and whiffed near midfield. Harper appeared to the only Saint defender to get so much as a hand on Hightower. The Cardinals did an excellent job of blocking in the front seven but the Saints safeties need to make the tackle on that play.

Bush set the tone for his day on the Saints' fourth play when he ducked his shoulder and ran over Cardinals cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to finish a nice 7-yard run.

Dockett got away with a big-time hold against Pierre Thomas to force an incomplete pass on a screen play.

Jeremy Shockey showed just how athletic he is when he lined up wide and ran a sluggo route - a slant and go - for a 13-yard gain to the Cardinals' 1-yard line to set up the Saints' first score. There are only a handful of tight ends in the league that can run that route and make that play.

Lynell Hamilton was a last-second sub for Pierre Thomas on the 1-yard TD run. Hamilton scored easily behind some nice power blocking from the right side of the line, led by Jahri Evans, Jon Stinchcomb and tackle-eligible Zach Strief.

Sedrick Ellis beat Cardinals center Lyle Sendlein like a drum while rushing Warner on the short completion to Jerheme Urban, which resulted in the big strip/forced fumble by Randall Gay. Sendlein reached out and just grabbed a handful of Ellis' jersey as he made his way to the quarterback but no flag was thrown.

It looked like Kyle Eckel suffered a stinger on his left shoulder while lead blocking for Thomas on the Saints' second series. Eckel took a hard knock from outside linebacker Chike Okeafor and immediately doubled over in pain.

Jeremy Shockey injured his right knee while pivoting on a third-down play on the Saints' second series. There was no contact on the play and Shockey immediately starting limping back to the huddle. One play later, despite limping through his route, Shockey caught a 17-yard strike from Brees for the Saints' second touchdown.

Bring the wood? David Thomas definitely did while blocking for Devery Henderson on a wide receiver screen late in the quarter. Thomas de-cleated Gabe Watson, whose flying body also took out Darnell Dockett and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Rodgers Cromartie injured his right knee on the play.

SECOND QUARTER:

The Saints ran an interesting personnel package with three receivers and running backs Bush and Thomas in the game at the same time. Bush lined up as a slot receiver both times.

Usama Young, playing the new dime back, made a nice tackle from behind on Hightower after a shot dump off pass and limit a potential big gainer to just 9 yards.

The Cardinals ran a classic pick play to Early Doucet to convert a critical third-and-2 on their touchdown drive.

Scott Fujita would like to have the play back on which Beanie Wells scored on a 4-yard touchdown run. The play was run right at Fujita but the veteran linebacker abandoned his run fit and took himself out of the play. Tight end Ben Patrick made a nice lead block on Vilma to allow Wells to waltz into the end zone.

Mike Bell, who did not play at all in the first quarter, finally made his first appearance on the Saints' fifth series of the game.

Robert Meachem tweaked his left ankle when Cardinals cornerback Greg Toler stepped on his foot from behind while chasing him in coverage.

The Saints went after McFadden in single coverage on back-to-back plays against Marques Colston. The 6-foot McFadden has decent size for a cornerback but he was no match for the 6-4 Colston, who easily outleaped him for both catches, including a 2-yard score.

Smart move by Doucet to duck for cover after a big hit by Scott Shanle dislodged him helmet at the end of crossing pattern. Doucet quickly ducked for cover before being swarmed over by Saints defenders.

Pro Bowl wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald had to wait until the final 30 seconds of the half to make his first catch, a leaping snare on an out route for a 16-yard gain.

THIRD QUARTER:

Ted Jackson/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints defensive lineman Sedrick Ellis had a great game.Ellis was excellent in this game. He used his hands really well to get pressure in Warner's face on the pass rush, one of the keys in the Saints' defensive game plan. Even when he didn't record the sack he was in Warner's face. You can see why this defense missed his presence down the stretch.

You could hear a collective gasp from Saints fans when Brees came up gimpy after taking a blow to his left knee from Calais Campbell. The play was reminiscent of the hit that caused a season-ending injury to Tom Brady a year ago. Brees spent time between the next two plays stretching and flexing his left knee, trying to shake off the pain and regain his range of motion.

Garrett Hartley didn't show any ill effects in his first game back in the Dome after missing the potential game-winning field goal against Tampa Bay in Week 16. Hartley was true on all seven place kicks, including a 43-yard field goal midway through the quarter.

Pierson Prioleau, Young and Troy Evans made good blocks on Reggie Bush's 83-yard punt return but it was mostly all Bush. His hard initial cut left long snapper Mike Leach grasping for air as he fell to the turf and Bush was off to the races. He scored untouched, racing past overmatched punter Ben Graham near midfield.

The Saints played almost exclusively out of a three-man defensive front in the third quarter, especially in passing situations. But they got aggressive once the Cardinals reached the red zone. The Saints debuted their Bear 46 package for a third-and-3 play at the 10, then came after Warner with seven rushers to force a high, hurried incompletion and keep the score at 45-14.

Pierre Thomas tweaked his right ankle on a short run late in the quarter.

The Saints went to their "heavy" package on offense in an attempt to run out the clock. They used the same personnel package - tight end David Thomas, tackle-eligible Zach Strief, receiver Robert Meachem, fullback Eckel and either Mike Bell or Lynell Hamilton at tailback - on six consecutive plays during a 15-play drive that ate 9:24 of the clock.

Calais Campbell rang Mike's Bell on a short carry midway through the aforementioned drive. After the wake-up call from the 6-8, 290-pound end, Bell ran with his pads noticeably lower on his subsequent carries.

The Saints tried a little trickery by using David Thomas on a reverse in an attempt to convert a fourth-and-1. Toler made a nice open-field tackle to stop Thomas for no gain.

The Saints' second-string defense played the entire fourth quarter. One of those reserves, Prioleau, squandered a golden opportunity to become the 12th different defender to make an interception this season when he dropped an easy third-down pass from Cardinals backup quarterback Matt Leinart.

PERSONNEL PACKAGES: As noted earlier, the Saints employed their usual array of formations and personnel groupings early but went to a lot of spread formations once injuries depleted the Cardinals' secondary. Once they grabbed the big lead, the Saints went to their "22" personnel package and tried to move the chains and run out the clock.

Here's a look at the Saints' personnel packages on their 66 offensive snaps:

1WR/2TE/1RB/1FB - 18 out of 663WR/1TE/1RB - 15 out of 662WR/1TE/1RB/1FB - 15 out of 66 plays2WR/2TE/1RB - 8 out of 663WR/2RB - 2 out of 662TE/1RB/1FB/1S - 4 out of 664WR/1RB - 3 out of 663TE/1RB/1FB - 1 out of 66